Hire for Strength Not Lack of Weakness

When hiring for a critical executive role, it is a common and dangerous mistake to hire for a lack of weakness rather than for strength.

The Consensus Trap:

This error often occurs in a consensus-based hiring process. When a group interviews a candidate, they are very effective at identifying the candidate's flaws and weaknesses. To reach a consensus, the group often settles on the candidate that nobody objects to—the one with no sharp edges or glaring weaknesses.

The result is that you hire a well-rounded, perfectly acceptable candidate who is mediocre in the one or two areas where you desperately need them to be world-class.

The Strength-Based Approach:

Define the Required Strengths: Before you even start interviewing, you must clearly define the specific, critical strengths the person in this role must possess for the company to succeed in the next 18 months. What is the one thing they must be in the top 5% of the world at?
Screen Explicitly for Those Strengths: Your interview process should be designed to rigorously test for the presence of these strengths.
Tolerate Weaknesses: World-class talent is often "spiky." A candidate who is a genius in one area may be deeply flawed in others (e.g., they might be awkward, not a great cultural fit, or lack polish). As the CEO, your job is to identify the essential strengths and be willing to tolerate the non-essential weaknesses.

As the author notes about his critical sales hire, Mark Cranney: "If he didn't have the things wrong with him... he wouldn't be willing to join a company that just traded at thirty-five cents per share; he'd be CEO of IBM."

You are not hiring for a generic, abstract "great executive." You are hiring for the specific strengths your company needs to win right now.

Tags: #leadership #hiring #recruiting #management #strategy #team-building #A-players